March 12, 2019
Sen. Lee Introduces ARTICLE ONE Act to Reclaim Congressional Power
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the ARTICLE ONE Act today, a bill that would take back significant legislative powers given to the executive branch by the National Emergencies Act of 1976.
Specifically, the bill would automatically end all future emergency declarations made pursuant to the NEA after 30 days unless Congress voted affirmatively to extend the emergency. Currently Congress can cancel an emergency declaration only by passing a resolution that that can withstand a presidential veto.
“If Congress is troubled by recent emergency declarations made pursuant to the National Emergencies Act, they only have themselves to blame,” Sen. Lee said. “Congress gave these legislative powers away in 1976 and it is far past time that we as an institution took them back. If we don’t want our president acting like a king we need to start taking back the legislative powers that allow him to do so. The ARTICLE ONE Act will go a long way to restoring the balance of powers in our republic.”
The bill’s full name is the “Assuring that Robust, Thorough, and Informed Congressional Leadership is Exercised Over National Emergencies Act”
An online version of this release, with a copy of the bill and a one-pager can be found here.
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Well, we’re in a historical moment at the Utah legislature. You’ve probably seen the news stories: the UT House and Senate are in gridlock over the state budget because of fall out from the sales tax bill getting postponed last week.
The House has proposed a “skinny” budget that has zero funding for the arts and humanities (and pretty much zero funding for anyone). It’s here, and here is the bill version: HB3.
The Senate’s proposal includes several items for the humanities and arts, including $2,000,000 ongoing in grants and changes to the request for appropriation (RFA) process for cultural organizations. If passed, this will bring the grants budget to $3.6million ongoing. Their list is here, and here are the bill versions: SB3, SB4.
UCA members have already receive an itemized list of what's in these bills (or not in them) for the cultural sector so you don't have to do the work of digging through the bills. If your membership isn't current, I'm happy to forward this email to you when you renew. :)
What you can do: hold tight. We're not doing a call to action yet. Stay tuned!
Federal Budget: President Trump released his "skinny" budget yesterday. It does not specifically propose defunding the National Endowments for the Humanities and Arts, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and Institute for Museum and Library Services (like many people are saying online). However, the assumption is that his full budget will call for defunding for the third year in a row when it is released.
Mark your calendars for April 2nd, 1pm for our legislative wrap-up. Come in person or tune-in online. Members can find details and rsvp here (free for members, you have to be logged in to be able to RSVP). For everyone else, it's $10 and you can rsvp here.
I will also be at the Ogden cultural sector lunch on Monday March 18th at 12pm to talk through the session. RSVP/details here.
Our advocacy work is directly supported by Utah Cultural Alliance members. If you're not a member, I invite you to become one.
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President Trump Signs Bishop Package Into Law
Gov. Herbert: “On behalf of Utah, I thank you.”
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed S. 47, the Natural Resources Management Act. Rep. Rob Bishop (UT-01) negotiated much of this legislation and voted for the bill. Bishop is the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Natural Resources and following the bill’s signing, released the statement below:
“Local voices impacted by public lands throughout our country have been heard. Today commemorates a bipartisan achievement that has been years in the making, and I’d like to thank President Trump for signing this valuable legislation into law. This bill is a victory for America’s sportsmen, local governments, public lands, and rightfully establishes monuments the right way. This achievement carries great meaning for my home state of Utah, and I’m proud to see this day finally arrive.”
Bishop received letters of support from Utah Governor Gary Herbert, Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, and Speaker of the Utah House Brad Wilson. CLICK HERE for summaries of highlighted sections relevant to Utah public lands
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It is irresponsible for a company not to have current digital policies. But, for many organizations, getting digital right is a major challenge and even bigger risk.
Available for interviews is the creator of the first and only comprehensive methodology on the market today for getting digital policy right! Kristina Podnar, an advisor, digital-policy consultant and author of the new book, The Power of Digital Policy: A practical guide to minimizing risk and maximizing opportunity for your organization, will help your audience take a break from philosophy and get back into the boardroom so we can look at this huge, civilization-altering phenomenon from an actionable perspective.
She’ll ask business leaders:
She will discuss that the organizations that manage to do both will come out on top, but there’s a lot more to that than just out-guessing future regulators. Please let me know if you’d like a copy of her new book or to talk with Kristina to learn more. Thanks for your time today!
Best,
Kristi Hughes
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Help decide how wildlife is managed in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY — If you are interested in Utah’s wildlife and how species are managed, several positions will soon be opening on the five Regional Advisory Councils (RAC) that share public feedback with the Utah Wildlife Board. You can apply for one of the available RAC positions, beginning March 16.
What the RACs do
Each RAC holds about six meetings a year. At the meetings, RAC members listen to proposals from Division of Wildlife Resources biologists about hunting, fishing and wildlife management in Utah. They also take input from the public about the proposals.
After voting on which proposals each RAC prefers, the chairperson for that RAC presents its recommendations to the Utah Wildlife Board. Members of the board consider the input, and then make the final decision regarding how wildlife is managed in Utah.
The RAC meetings usually last from three to five hours. The meetings are held in the evenings, usually on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night.
Applying to serve
RAC members represent one of six interests: hunters, anglers and trappers; those who don’t hunt or fish; ranchers and farmers; locally-elected public officials; federal land-management agencies; and the rest of the public at large.
To fill one of the upcoming vacancies, you must live in the region of Utah you wish to represent. Here is how to apply:
If you want to represent the public at large, you must contact a group in your community and ask them to nominate you. Political groups, town councils, animal sanctuary committees and recreational groups are examples of groups that have nominated people in the past.
If you want to fill one of the other positions on the RAC—except for the federal land- management agency position—you must contact a conservation group or organization in your region and ask that they nominate you to serve in the vacancy you’d like to fill.
For example, if you want to fill a sportsman’s vacancy, you must contact a Utah sportsman’s group and ask them to nominate you for the vacancy. Federal land-management agencies appoint their own representatives to the RACs.
To learn about wildlife or conservation groups in your area, contact the nearest DWR office.
Vacant RAC positions
The current open RAC positions include the following:
Agriculture
Public at large
Locally-elected public official
Non-consumptive
BLM
Public at large
Public at large
Non-consumptive
Sportsmen
Non-consumptive
Nomination deadlines
Nominating groups and organizations can begin submitting their nominations at 12:01 a.m. March 16. Nominations have to be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on April 15.
Visit the DWR website to submit nominations, once the nomination period has opened.
More information
For more information, call the nearest DWR office, or send an email to Staci Coons, the DWR’s Wildlife Board/RAC coordinator, at stacicoons@utah.gov.
